Russia plans artificial gravity space station

Russia has patented a space station that spins to create gravity to allow astronauts to live and work without floating.

The Russian state rocket company Energia has submitted plans for a space base that would rotate five times a minute, creating a centrifugal force mimicking 50 per cent of Earth’s gravity.

Currently, astronauts on orbiting space stations such as the International Space Station (ISS) experience microgravity, and float because the spacecraft is in constant free-fall around Earth.

But living without gravity is hugely detrimental to human health, causing bone and muscle loss, heart deconditioning, immune system changes, and vision and cognition problems.

Space agencies have toyed with the idea of creating gravity for decades to get round the health issues, but until now it has remained in the realm of science fiction. A similar spinning space station appears in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The space station design, which was published on the Russian Federation Federal Service of Intellectual Property website, states that “the objective of the proposed invention is to improve the design of a space system with artificial gravity in order to increase the safety of use by the crew”.

The structure, which resembles an electric fan, comprises a central spinning module attached to habitation “arms” that rotate, creating an outward force that would pin those on board to the floor. Living quarter arms – which extend out like spokes on a wheel – would need to be around 40m long to create the sufficient rotation radius for the necessary force to be created.

The patent says: “The space system with artificial gravity includes an axial module with static and rotating parts, connected with the help of a hermetically sealed flexible junction, as well as habitable modules, rotation equipment and power sources.”

The surface of the Moon has around one sixth of Earth’s gravity, so the effect would be significantly stronger, meaning astronauts would be able to walk and work without floating, although it would still feel lighter than at home.

Assembling the station would require multiple launches and assembly in orbit, and the station has been designed to be built from the inside out, with more habitation modules added to the arms as required. However, the patent notes that attaching parts to a spinning station is likely to be tricky.

The plans have emerged as the ISS approaches the end of its life, with decommissioning expected in 2030, and multiple countries and commercial space groups already planning alternatives.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is working on the Russian Orbital Space Station (ROSS) and there are reports that it is planning to detach and repurpose its ISS segments. The rest of the ISS will be “deorbited” and likely burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Nasa and the European Space Agency will soon start building the Lunar Gateway, which will orbit the Moon and act as a stepping stone to the surface.

The concept of a ring-shaped rotating space station was first proposed by the Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. It was later championed by German-American space pioneer Wernher von Braun.

Nasa and Stanford University came up with the idea of a rotating space station in 1975, and called it the Stanford Torus. The ring-shaped station was designed to be more than a mile in diameter and house 10,000 permanent residents.

In 2011, Nasa also began development of the Nautilus-X rotating wheel space station but the project was cancelled because of budget constraints.

The Russian design is similar to that of US start-up Vast, which is also planning a wheel and spoke system spinning station, known as Haven.

The company launched a small spacecraft in November packed with test electronics and machinery and hopes to begin launching modules in 2026, although it is unclear if the concept will work.